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Computer ownership and home usage: the case of Malaysia
Author(s) -
Loke Yiing Jia,
Foo Ching Szu
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of consumer studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 1470-6423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00849.x
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , the internet , socioeconomic status , process (computing) , information technology , production (economics) , business , marketing , computer science , economics , microeconomics , sociology , world wide web , social science , population , demography , operating system
The multi‐functionality of computers and the increased accessibility of the Internet have created a demand for computers at home which was previously concentrated in offices. Using the Heckman two‐step model and by combining socioeconomic factors and insights from Becker's theory on allocation of time in the household with information system theories, it was found that: (i) household allocation of resources; (ii) age and gender; and (iii) household social environment are significant in determining computer purchase decisions and its extent of usage in households in Malaysia, a developing information, communication and technology country. Responses collected from 500 computer users were used in the study. Unlike most household technologies, the results also suggested that despite the multi‐functionality of computers, it was perceived as a technology that facilitates the consumption process more than the production process.